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New IoT dev kit runs Linux on dual-core, multithreading MIPS CPU
- alexvoica 11y agoYou can check out the Kickstarter page for a full description of the hardware specs and the open source software stack https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/imgtec/creator-ci40-the-ultimate-iot-in-a-box-dev-kit https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/imgtec/creator-ci40-the...
- voltagex_ 11y ago>The Creator Ci40 IoT dev kit is available exclusively from Kickstarter Yet "Kickstarter is not a store". I also question why a company as big as Imagination needs Kickstarter.
- alexvoica 11y agoThree main reasons. 1) Going through resellers and distributors adds a signficant premium. By using Kickstarter, we can sell the kit at a reduced price. 2) Kickstarter enables us to communicate directly to indie developers, makers and other hackers and get their feedback on the product. 3) The funds will help us accelerate development for the open source software stack. Other companies have used crowdfunding to launch products recently, including Canonical, Sony and - more recently - Pepsi.
- pkaye 11y agoHow much risk are "customers" taking when they buy it through Kickstarter? If the product is never delivered, will they get their money back?
- alexvoica 11y agoIf funding is not achieved, then backers get the money back. If funding is achieved, then it is up to the company to deliver the product as promised. There have been some cases where the companies ran out of money before they could deliver on all or any of their promises.
- mschuster91 11y agoMIPS? Why? I mean, that prevents use of all the ARM-targeted stuff that has been developed over years :(
- voltagex_ 11y agoBecause the creator of the product has a financial interest in the success of MIPS
- analognoise 11y agoBingo, these are the same toolbags that were crowing about letting students see their magic sauce Verilog, which was license encumbered and definitely not as good as other fully open architectures out there. Don't fall for this crap, everyone.
- alexvoica 11y agoCan you please define "not as good"? I'm trying to understand if you're referring to the quality of the hardware or the software ecosystem - or both. MIPSfpga is a product for universities and academic institutions. There are a number of advantages of MIPSfpga over OpenRISC and RISC-V including: 1. The MIPS architecture is better supported by university text books. It is used as an example of a RISC architecture and an example of a CPU microarchitectural implementation in Patterson & Hennessy and in Harris & Harris 2. MIPSfpga shares Verilog source code with MIPS microAptiv UP - a commercial core that has many licensees including Microchip Technology and Samsung. The university professors have an interest to teach students about a CPU widely used by the industry, not a subset of an architecture, an old implementation of the architecture or a CPU core created only for academic purposes and not deployed by semiconductor companies. 3. The MIPS architecture is backed by a significant software ecosystem that includes a dozen of commercial RTOSes, official Linux support, compilers and debuggers, open source software, etc. The point of MIPSfpga is not to deliver the solution optimized for a specific line of Xilinx FPGAs (like MicroBlaze) but to teach students general design practices, applicable to both FPGAs and ASICs. The code in MIPSfpga is not FPGA-specific. It uses Xilinx and Altera macros for memory in caches, but generally this is the same code used to make an ASIC. The main idea of using MIPSfpga is that the students can play with the CPU core, create multicore systems, modify caches, etc. If they invent something useful, they can attract venture investment, buy a commercial license for MIPS microAptiv UP or MIPS M5150 and create their own ASIC design company. Hope this helps.
- 2bluesc 11y agoThis brings flash backs to PowerVR "open source" drivers from their GPUs on ARM application processors.
- alexvoica 11y agoThere is no PowerVR GPU on this SoC. Besides, we are working on that too. http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=power-vr-open-chatter http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=power-vr-...